9 Useful Tips to Prevent a Foggy Scuba Mask

Consistently diving with a foggy SCUBA mask? Try these tips and tricks to defog your mask for good!

Whether you’re a first time snorkeler or a seasoned diver, there’s nothing worse than jumping in the water and having a foggy mask minutes later. This problem is not only frustrating but it can distract you from enjoying your time in the water.

Why does your dive or snorkel mask fog up?

Brand new, out of the box masks come with a thin film of silicone that has accumulated on the glass lenses during the manufacturing process. Without proper “prep” prior to your time underwater, the film causes water to condense on the inside of the glass lens causing the fogging and effectively ruining your dive.

This nuisance can be easily avoided by cleaning your mask prior to using it!

How to Prevent a Foggy Mask While Scuba Diving

For most divers, a scuba mask is the first piece of equipment they invest some serious cash into. And if you don’t already know, masks can rack up quite the bill. So it’s important to take proper care before, during and after a dive!

Below are our tried and true tips to help keep your mask fog-free and you worry-free!

Note: Be sure to apply these techniques to the inside of your mask! Not the outside!

Pre-dive care to prevent foggy masks

1. Scrub a brand new dive mask with toothpaste

By far the easiest and safest way to clean a new mask. Apply white, non-abrasive, non-gel toothpaste to the inside of the mask. Be sure to rub toothpaste on every inch of the glass. Keep rubbing for a few more minutes.

Take this time to contemplate how amazing you’re going to look in pictures with your new super cool mask.

Leave the toothpaste on for at least an hour or, even better, overnight. Next, rinse it off with freshwater.

Ta-da! You’ve got a clean and minty mask ready for the water.

Disclaimer: In a pinch we’ve totally just rubbed in toothpaste several times on the boat ride out to the dive site. It’ll do the trick but it’s always better to take the time to properly clean your mask.

2. Or use a lighter on the inside of the lens

To be honest we’ve never actually done this but we know it’s a very popular trick. Toothpaste has never let us down but if your mask is unbelievably stubborn this might be worth a shot.

Our only word of caution is to be careful! Last thing you want is to ruin your new and expensive mask. Make sure you have a tempered glass mask, not plastic and that the flame doesn’t touch the skirt of the mask otherwise it’ll burn!

Since we haven’t tried this ourselves, you’re on your own… just kidding! There’s hundreds of YouTube tutorials that will walk you through the entire process.

Mask defoggers before your descend

3. Reef Friendly Defog

4. Baby Shampoo

Baby shampoo is not just for babies, it makes a great mask defogger! You can make your own defog spray by mixing baby shampoo and water in an empty spray bottle. This is what most dive charters have onboard as their defog.

Spray, rinse and you’re good to go! Alternatively you can use a drop of baby shampoo straight from the bottle on the inside of you mask. Be careful not to apply too much which irritates your eyes.

Additionally, if you’re diving on a dive charter make sure you know which rinse bucket is for masks and which one is for cameras only. Dunking your baby shampoo filled mask into the camera bucket will break down the o-rings of underwater camera housings. Which is no way of making new dive friends.

5. Your own spit!

Gross, but effective….and free! Right before a dive, swish some saliva in your mouth, spit into your mask and smear it all across the glass.

Pro-tip: Do this before eating any snacks. It’s not very pretty otherwise.

Just be mindful if you’re on a dive charter: please don’t spit and dunk your mask in the communal rinse bucket (*face palm*).

Practice good habits to prevent a foggy scuba mask

6. Have a properly fitted mask

The most expensive mask in the store isn’t always the best mask for you. Although sale reps will try to convince you otherwise. With so many choices how do you find the ONE for you?

Take your time trying out different mask styles until you find one that fits your face comfortably and has a perfect seal along the whole length of the skirt. Anything that doesn’t feel good in the store is guaranteed to give you problems underwater.

How do you know if a mask has a perfect seal?

Place it on your face without using the strap and gently inhale through your nose. The mask should seal easily on your face yet be comfortable. Place a snorkel in your mouth and repeat the sniff test. If the mask falls off during this test, it’s not the ONE.

7. Don’t breathe out of your nose!

Snorkeling and SCUBA diving are possibly the only times that it’s good to be a mouth breather. However, it takes some getting used to.

Unless you’re already a mouth breather on land, that is. Bet you’re suddenly self-conscious about how you breath now…

8. Clear mask of any hair (mustache included!)

Don’t let your long luscious locks or your epic beard get in the way of a dive. Hairs break the mask seal and slowly let water trickle in which leads to fogging and frustration. So be sure to brush your hair back before putting your mask on.

For the gents, apply Vaseline or Chapstick to the mustache to seal your mask. Can’t say I’ve ever had this problem, though…

9. Minimize touching your mask lens

All these cleaning tips go out the window if you touch the lens after. Whichever way you decide to defog your mask make sure to keep it finger print free!

And if your mask is still fogging up…

Well, shucks. I guess you need to repeat steps 1 through 9! Kidding…sort of. If it’s a new mask, you certainly may have to repeat steps 1 or 2. If not, just soak it a little more with any of the defoggers we mentioned earlier.

Happy diving! May your time be spent fog-free!